Conscious Investment Management’s Post

Matthew Tominc recently took part in a fascinating session at the Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific, with the Paul Ramsay Foundation, The Snow Foundation, Georgina Byron AM, Ben Smith, Pia Clinton-Tarestad and Geoffrey Smith. The panel shared learnings on their approaches to investing and how they look to create additional impact through investments.   For more details on Conscious Investment Management’s approach, download our Impact Report, which provides case studies, interviews with our impact partners and stories about the people supported at our assets. https://lnkd.in/g23d-acE

We are thrilled to announce the well-deserved promotion of Casey Taylor from Director to Executive Director at Conscious Investment Management (CIM).   Casey joined our team early in CIM's journey, and has been involved with a number key initiatives, including our First Nations carbon farming investment alongside Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corporation (RNTBC), and several social housing investments alongside HousingFirst Ltd, Bridge Housing Limited and Melbourne City Mission (MCM).   As Executive Director, Casey will continue to lead investments, alongside CIM’s innovation and growth. Please join us in congratulating Casey on this well-earned promotion!

Conscious Investment Management has reached first close on a target A$200M social and affordable housing fund, securing over A$50M from investors.    CIM Social Housing Fund 2 aims to deliver market-rate financial returns while supporting the delivery of high quality social and affordable housing stock in Australia. In deploying the Fund, we will work closely in partnership with the community housing sector to finance assets in combination with government funding programs, including the recently announced Federal Housing Accord and Housing Australia Future Fund.    We also welcome John White who will act as Special Advisor to our business, and specifically, CIM Social Housing Fund 2. With over three decades of experience in global property investment and development, financial services and funds management, John is a recognised leader in the property sector and a vocal advocate for social and affordable housing in Australia. Welcome, John!    Further information: AFR Article (online): https://lnkd.in/gDEYmS7S AFR Article (pdf): https://lnkd.in/g_-FixQc Media Release: https://lnkd.in/gzxRueGk

Conscious Investment Management has submitted a response to Treasury consulting on the investment mandate of Housing Australia – the Commonwealth Government’s delivery agency of the recently announced Housing Australia Future Fund and National Housing Accord programs. These government funding programs are designed to deliver 40,000 new social and affordable homes over the next five years and stimulate institutional investment into the sector. Our recommendations are based on our learnings from funding social and affordable housing projects with private capital, and our experience participating in government procurement processes in partnership with the community housing sector. You can read our submission here: https://lnkd.in/gzTkYdeF

We’re thrilled to announce that Conscious Investment Management has been shortlisted as a finalist for the 2023 Impact Investment Awards in the Impact Asset Manager category. Congratulations to our fellow finalists, and thank you to the Department of Social Services (DSS) for sponsoring the awards and Social Impact Hub for convening this initiative. We look forward to celebrating the sector’s achievements at the awards ceremony on Thursday 30th of November.

At the recent Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit, Climate Friendly Co-CEO Skye Glenday, sat down with PBC Coordinator of Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corporation (RNTBC), Cassie Stevens, to discuss KBRAC’s recent buy-back of their Country with the support of Climate Friendly as carbon service provider, and Conscious Investment Management as financier.   In Cassie's words: "We’re looking forward to making sure that we create pathways and opportunities for Kullilli people to return to Country, to revitalise our cultural heritage connections that were disconnected through the removal of our old people, and we want to make sure that it’s long-lasting, sustainable and enduring so that our future generations are always going to be able to go back to Country, be on Country, and practice Kullilli culture and customs."   Watch an excerpt of the interview here: https://lnkd.in/g25d8sPh To learn more about the acquisition, read the joint media statement here: https://lnkd.in/g2UitrVT

We acknowledge the outcome of the Referendum, and are saddened that Australia didn’t provide First Nations peoples with a chance to have a say in matters that affect their lives, their families, and their communities.   Thank you to the First Nations community for your graceful leadership and generosity in inviting Australia to walk alongside you towards a brighter future.   CIM and our team remain firmly committed to embedding reconciliation into everything that we do. We will continue to strive to form meaningful partnerships with First Nations peoples and business, and ensure solutions we invest into are led by the voice of the First Nations community. 

This Saturday 14th of October, we’ll be voting to set people, families and communities on new trajectories. It’s an opportunity to shape our nation’s future for generations to come.    In the final few days of the campaign, we reaffirm that Conscious Investment Management stands unequivocally with the YES campaign. Our YES thesis is simple. A constitutionally enshrined Voice will ensure that First Nations people are represented in policy conversations that concern them. The overwhelming evidence is that policy decisions that make a difference are those set with a local and community voice. Better policy decisions benefit all Australians.    As a fund manager, a core part of what we do is assess risk in the decisions we make. All change involves risk, but in our view, the Voice is unequivocally directionally correct and the opportunity for a better Australia that the Voice presents far outweighs the known risks and outcomes of the status quo.    Whichever side of the ledger your vote lands on Saturday, you will make history.    Read on for why we will be voting YES: https://lnkd.in/ga34N5Ck  #yes23

We are delighted to release our third annual Impact Report, which shares details of CIM’s investing activities and impact performance over the 2023 financial year.    At CIM, we recognise that we can only manage the impact we can measure. Through this report, we continue to build on our track record of measuring and transparently communicating the positive impact generated by our investments and our organisation.     Key highlights of the report include: - ~A$330 million of impact investments made to date. - 10 investments alongside 12 Impact Partners, each mapping to UN Sustainable Development Goals. - Two new and unique investments: A carbon farming investment, focused on carbon sequestration through native forest regeneration, while empowering First Nations people to reclaim ownership of their Country; and an investment that targets youth housing, with the goal of eliminating stigma and addressing the barriers to accessing housing that young people often face during their transition to independence. Since inception, CIM has provided financing for: - 63 distributed rooftop solar assets; - 264 social and affordable housing dwellings; - 72 specialist disability accommodation apartments;  - 1 carbon farming project in partnership with a First Nations organisation; and - 2 social impact bonds, supporting over 245 vulnerable children and their families through education and out-of-home care.   If you would like to learn more about CIM’s approach to impact measurement and reporting, or to discuss any of the investments highlighted in this year’s report, please reach out to a member of the CIM team.    Find out more: https://lnkd.in/g23d-acE   #impactinvesting #impactreporting